Mixes of analogous colors that Angie & others refer to as “tonal matches” always strike me as energetic and sophisticated. I chose a group of colors, berry, instead of a single shade as the primary color in my wardrobe so that those mixes just happen easily. “Dark Summer” schemes take the luxe, lush idea of wearing analogous colors up a notch to be moody and romantic. It’s not my natural habitat, but I wanted to visit, not just on a cruise but “going native”, to use the cringeiest term possible. This is my study trip.

As I went, I adapted the CPTS formula to a set of guidelines for Dark Summer:

Color: No Scooby-Doo/Hannah Barbara palettes, obviously. Another temptation to avoid was “pops” of color—I tried to keep everything a similar tone value. Partway through the week I realized that many of the palettes in Brooklyn’s stunning skirt collection from a few months ago included a light neutral, so I sought to include one without letting it take over. This helps stop the dark colors from drawing out the allergic circles under my eyes. I started wearing frost pink with my berries a while back, maybe because of a subconscious recognition of the benefit of a lighter color in a mix of analogous colors.

Pattern: I love pattern to keep things interesting and to avoid a mass of too much sameness. Technically, my favorite “new” (bought in September) S/S/F skirt is a dark floral, because of the background, but I wanted to avoid that kind of ditsy print, so I set it aside and looked for pieces with large patterns. I also decided that abstract and botanical, including floral, patterns fill the bill better than geometric patterns. I love those looks on others, but shy away from them for myself. That might need to change.

Texture is the bugaboo many fans of winter dressing mentioned in Anchie’s recent discussion post. When I wore two pieces, I tried to select different textures. My long hair provides some texture, but curly, spiky, or shaggy/layered hair would add more. Of course, any hair is a place to wear accessories, so lots of pix from the rear in this post, to show what I’ve got in my hair. Lightweight belts are an obvious chance to add texture in summer heat. A raffia, crochet or other textured bag could amp up this criteria, but I don’t have any right now. As the project went on, I realized that I really do like the simplicity of summer dressing, and adding stuff just for the sake of having more stuff to layer/put textures together spoils the fun & ease for me.

Shine. When it was too warm for much jewelry, I kept it light and looked to hair accessories, buckles, and buttons to bring on the shine. My beloved loafers added some shine on rainy and cool days.

As usual, these are my ordinary outfits, with pictures taken oitw as I run around in my everyday life. They are in chronological order, to show how I got more into this and learned as I went.

Weather started with highs in the low 90s; by midweek they were in the low 60s, and then the blue skies and moderate temps (70s) returned. Many of the items I wore were in my Florida Fall capsule https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....st-1868027; the question of what makes an item suitable for one season over another is one I’m still wrestling with, because autumn here is glorious and warm. The second week was much simpler summer weather, absolutely delightful.

Photos/outfits

2-5 I eased my way into darker colors with the ditzy print jumpsuit at the beginning of the week. Took it in a 90s direction with tennies, which can best be seen in my 90s poses, lol. Magnetic chain on my wrist can be necklace or bracelet.

6-7 A sharp geometric print is pretty much the opposite of moody. Even if I pick up bonus bonus points for black lace and the barrette which includes “moody” mother of pearl sections, this one still doesn’t get a passing grade in this class.

8-9 This top has my best “moody dark summer” print, I think, and its cool fabric is great for the heat, but it is very casual. I planned to add texture with a web belt, but I broke it. Hair accessory is a black fabric band. I thought the ethereal look of the reflection pic matched the theme; others may find it annoying, so I included a straight-on pic too.

10-14 A T-shirt dress with clog sandals was simple enough for my low energy level on this day. I motivated myself to get dressed with underpinnings in a “dark moody” color mix in texturally interesting satin and lace. Lace sleeves (shoulders, really) give a little textural interest to the outfit. Necklace and barrette add shine. Fell short on the visible “pattern” part of CPTS until it got cool enough to wear a jacket. This is the first outfit I’d be willing to submit to the Moody Dark Summer Board for review, but it’s still missing something.

15-19 The weather is certainly cooperating! This dark & stormy day was the perfect chance to wear a long-sleeved lightweight dress that I otherwise save for special occasions that never come. It’s got good twirl. The short full skirt makes it easy to wear on the bike. The rainy weather called for closed-toe shoes. Not sure if there’s too much white in the headband. I’d love to have an accessory that draws out the teal blue shade in the dress’ pattern, but I don’t. I enjoyed this outfit.

20-23 I take back what I said about the weather. With a high temp of 62/17, I can’t wear any of the summer things I had planned except for the EF linen tank. I’m tired of this. Once I got dressed though, my outfit felt ok to me. But looking for photo spots, I realized that it is hard to find this mood in nature at this time of year. Dead grass works, but isn’t as uplifting as some other backdrops. Bright blue skies and green leaves seem contrary to “dark & moody”. As much as I looked for inspiration, it wasn’t there for me in the summer landscape.

24 Welp, so much for that outfit. Darn—I like the pattern on the shorts & think they’d work for “dark summer”. Having them taken in would cost 8€—much less than new, with less hassle. I may need to evaluate which of my shorts I want to have done and take a bunch in. A favorite old skirt also failed in this outfit creation session for the same reason and is currently getting a new waistband.

25-26 I’ve worn this blouse at least weekly this summer; before that, it hung in my closet NWT for over three years, and it often comes to mind when I read closet editing/“dress for real life” posts. Guess I don’t need to feel guilty about it any more! No fancy hair doodad today, wish I could find my crochet headband. Maybe could’ve used a necklace with that low neckline.

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For week 2, I decided to stop stressing about what was or wasn’t Dark Summer. I dressed from the capsule I had pulled together without thinking too hard. I’m not sure if this backsliding resulted in relaxing into the style or if I’m just too far off the mark/in the dark.
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27-28 Yes, I know I said geometric shapes were out, and I can see the beaded design on my shirt. See “not pushing too hard”. The one bit of effort I did make was wearing a headband, which my son told me looked like a do-rag (https://www.theguardian.com/fa.....r-of-vogue), but I’m not trying to steal anybody’s culture; it’s a headband. The belt, which I am peering at, was mostly to keep the shorts up.

29 Quick shot en route to a swim. Shorts and hair were both washed afterwards. Elastic bottom makes this an easy summer top.

30-33 EF Iinen top again, this time with a water-friendly skirt I should be wearing in a canoe. Probably would’ve been better with tan bag and white shirt, but the white bag was the size I needed. That was reinforced in the hipster district where I had supper—everyone wore black and white, with the occasional earth tones or blue, but generally just one piece per person, not an entire outfit.

35-35 The geometry is getting worse—now there are diamonds on my bottom half too! It’s a true skort—skirt in front, shorts in back. That and a and breezy cotton top worked for 86 F.

36-37 And now for something completely different. I never did figure how how to make that stretched fabric look intentional, so I just wore the pants with a hippie bag & beachy Baja topper, figuring they are all in touch with their RATE side.

And with that, the Dark Summer spell is broken (yes, I took the class at Hogwarts). I still have items—mostly dresses—left in the capsule, but my usual orneriness is setting in. I’d much rather pick something else for the day than choose from the “assignment”. I get a grade of “Incomplete” in the course, but I do think I’ve learned a bit.

I look forward to feedback, comments, criticism, and suggestions, even more than usual, especially from analysts and aficionados of this style, as this was a challenge for me.

Thanks for reading & looking!

ETA.

As usual, most of these things are not new. Just for fun, I thought through where/when I got them:

1989-92 black silk shirt, jeans shorts

1992-95 cream colored jeans

1998-2001 jumpsuit, black floral dress, suede jacket,

2002-2005 rain jacket, purple floral skirt

2006-2008 blue ls shirt

2010-18 geo skirt, black tank, black floral top, olive dress, EF tank, magenta blouse, woven white top, skort, Baja topper

After starting ylf, before 2018 olive shorts, plaid jacket

2019-now pinstriped jeans, white bodysuit, paisley top